Pattern wheel assembly



July 23, 1935. H. AGULNEK 2,008,810

PATTERN WHEEL ASSEMBLY Filed April 21, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iiil Y wz Z INVENTOR 2 i Harry Agulzwic ATTORNEY July 23, 1935. AGULNEK PATTERN WHEEL ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1934 |I|I||||l|)\ ATTORN EY INVENTOR Harry Agulneic fi Patented July 23, 1935 usi'rso STATES;

PATENT OFFICE,

PATTERN WHEEL ASSEMBLY Harry Agulnek, Brooklyn, N. 1., assigner to Samuel Mishcon, doing business as Supreme Knitting Machine 00., Brooklyn, N. Y. Application April 21 1934, Serial No. 721,711

Claims. (01. 66--50) This invention relates to jack pattern wheels,

particularly of the type used on circular knitting machines for producing knitted pattern designs, one of the main objects of the invention being to permit the use of such a wheel with a. relatively small or fine gauge cylinder, or one having more needles per inch than can generally be used according to the present practice. I V Y The usual type of jack pattern wheel contains a plurality of circumferentially disposed slots between which are inserted jacks for operatively engaging the butts of the needles toproduce pre-. determined knitted patterns. Inasmuch as the walls of these slots are generally integralwith the wheel proper, there is always a minimum limitation to the pitch of these slots, due to the fact that the walls cannot, for practical reasons, be made too thin. Should thin walls be produced by precision machining, or otherwisa'there is always the danger of bending, breaking or distorting these walls, therebyrendering the wheel inaccurate or entirely useless for its purpose, and necessitating frequent replacements thereof. It is hence one of the objects of my invention to overcome this disadvantage by the use .of independent walls inserted into appropriate circumferentially positioned slots in the pattern wheel, whereby the wheel becomes. a housing bothfor these walls, and for the jacks. Specifically, the walls are inserted in the wheel in such a way as to permit the placing'of a jack between adjacent walls, thereby enabling the wheel to serve its operative purpose in the usual way, and at the same time permitting a greater number of walls and jacks to "be .circumierentially positioned around the pattern wheel than isotherwise possible. employ in my invention, a smaller pitch can be obtained, enabling the wheel to operate with as many as thirty needles per inch as compared to a maximumof twenty-two in the ordinary type of wheel over which this invention is an ,improve ment. As these walls are preferably made .of spring steeLthey can withstanda certain amount or flexing and bending, without interfering with the operation of the/wheel; and should a wall become mutilated, or distorted,,my invention prevides, in one modification thereof, a method of removingthe defectivewall and replacing it with anew one. V r W Intheold form oi wheel, the inclination thereof is generallyless than 40, a; necessarycon'dition view of the fe uired thickness of the walls forming the s ot ami the e u tant. minimum limitation to the nui he p i need es e la wit With the use of the thin steel walls I' which the wheel could operatively coact. Such a small angle produces relatively small successive elevations or steps between adjacent walls, making the operation not very positive, and resulting frequently in errors. With the use of my 5 invention, however, a greater angle, and hence a larger wheel can be employed, thereby providing not merely a smaller pitch, but also larger steps between adjacent walls, to effect more positive 1 engagement of the jacks and needle butts. 10 It is the general practice in producing a Jersey stitch, or one where all the needles are conmletely elevated, to have a cam with its wgrking face an gularly disposed with reierence to the butts of the needles and adapted to elevate them to their up: permest positions during the rotation of the machine, in this way eliminating any design produced by the operation of the jack pattern wheel; This frequently necessitates the temporary removal of the pattern wheels during this operation,-thereby frequently causing the walls, when reinserted in position, to be out of time with the needles. To overcome this disadvantage, I have conceived a lifting cam positioned adjacent the pattern'wheel, and so designed as to permit, either by automatic or manual operation, the elevation of the needles into their uppermost pros jected positions, Without disengaging the "pat-.- tern wheel from the needles, and in this way keeping the wheel constantly in time and. always in engagement with the needles; This lifting cam has the further advantage of being firmly set inits upper or operative position withoutithe danger of having a tight needle push it down to its inoperative position, thereby eliminating the danger of errors from this cause.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings, 40 Figure 1 isa-front diagrammaticview showing 5 a section of the cylindrically disposed needles and illustrating the relative positions of the pattern wheel and the lifting cam.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section of Figure l 5 taken along line 2-2 showing detail the pre- ,ferrediorm of pattern wheel constituting part of this invention. I

' Figure .3 is a diagrammatic .viewlooking from the cylinderfoutwardly, sh owingthe relative po- 59 131131 of the needle butts, "pattern wheel walls and-jacks. v v V Figure .4 is a diagramniatic view showing a 'p tion'oi the,n d ebuttsc ac s w th the'w l s and jacke of an angularlyrdisposed patternwheel Q5 (shown by dot-dash lines), a number of the walls and jacks being shown in their circumferential and substantially radial positions, the jacks being on the upper surface and the walls on the lower surface of the wheel.

Figure 5 is a detached view of the parts constituting the assembly of pattern wheel cover (a fragment being shown), a jack, the pattern wheel body (a fragment being shown), and a wall, these parts being illustrated from the top downwardly in the order herein given.

Figure 6 is a side View of the detached arrangement of Figure 5 showing the relative angular positions of the parts of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of a fragment of the pattern wheel, showing the slots, the walls inserted therein, and jacks therebetween.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section similar to Figure 2, showing a modified form of my invention where both the walls and jacks are inserted on the upper surface of the pattern. wheel proper.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure '7 showing the relationship of slots, walls and jacks of the device of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a fragmentary section of the lifting cam assembly.

Figure 11 is a side sectional view of Figure 10 along line H-l I.

Figure 12 is a perspective of the lifting cam proper.

In the drawings, and particularly in the preferred embodiment thereof, the jack pattern wheel l5 contains a plurality of circumferentially disposed slots l6 within which are inserted the relatively thin walls I? preferably made of spring steel. The said slots communicate with recessed portion l8 which contains a circular groove or notch l 9 extending upwardly into the body of the wheel; and the said walls are adapted to fit into said recessed portion, the extension 28 of the wall entering into and being adapted for accommodation by said notch is, thereby providing a well secured fit for the walls. In between the outwardly projecting terminal portions 2| of the walls are positioned the jacks 22, arranged for operative engagement with the butts 23 of the needles 24. The said Walls i! can be secured into place by soldering, or removably inserted by a forced fit, or in any other suitable manner.

With this arrangement it will be seen that with the machine rotating in the direction of the arrows A (Figure 3), the pattern wheel 15 will rotate obliquely with respect thereto in the di rection of arrow B, the butts 23 of the needles intermeshing with said outwardly projecting portions 2! of the walls I! to cause this movement. Wherever there is a jack between the walls, it will engage the needle butt intermeshing with the walls between which the jack is positioned,- thereby causing an upward movement of the needle during the operative rotation of the pattern wheel. In this way designs are produced in accordance with predetermined settings of the jacks.

Inasmuch as the walls ll contain no portion thereof extending over and upon the upper surface of the pattern wheel I5,-(the body portions of the walls extending underneath the wheel into the recessed portion l8),the inner portions 25 of the jacks are not crowded due to their radial arrangement, thereby leaving room for more jacks operatively applied to the wheel. In other words, had the jacks and walls both been positioned along the upper surface of the pattern wheel,

there would be a congestion of jacks and walls along the interior portion of the wheel.

It will also be noticed that inasmuch as the Walls I 'l are relatively thin, the angle of the pattern wheel with respect to the horizontal can be made suificiently great to provide for the operative engagement of the walls with needles relatively close together. Having this greater angular disposition, it will be seen, particularly by referring to Figure 3, that there are larger successive steps between walls, thereby effecting a more positive and accurate operative contacting of the parts.

Each pattern wheel is preferably provided with a cover plate 26 suitably bolted or otherwise secured in place, said plate containing a plurality of teeth 21 which intermesh with the inserted walls I! of the housing. This arrangement not only reinforces the walls and firmly holds them and the jacks in place, but serves also to properly space and align the walls for operative conditions.

Figure 8 shows a modification wherein both the jacks 28 and walls 29 are inserted into the upper surface of the pattern wheel 30. With this design, either an elevated boss or a plate 3| is employed to serve as an abutment for the jacks and Walls. A cover plate 32, similar to that shown in the preferred embodiment of my invention, can also be used with this modified form thereof, the teeth 33 intermeshing with the walls 29 positioned around the wheel. Figure 9 shows in diagrammatical form a top View illustrating the relative positions of jack, walls and slots 3e circumferentially positioned around this modified form of pattern wheel.

The lifting cam arrangement that I employ in conjunction with the pattern wheel is illustrated in Figures 10, 11 and 12. The cam proper 35 is slidably movable in a vertical direction within a suitably positioned slot, the oblique face 36 thereof being operatively engageable with the butts of the needles to raise them to their uppermost levels when the cam is in its upper projected position. The cam is provided with a horizontal slot 31 adapted to slidably and rotatably receive the pin 38 eccentrically positioned on and extending rearwardly from the rear face of the shaft 39 which extends forwardly from its housing 40 to permit rotation thereof by a manual manipulation of the knurled knob 4|. The said shaft 39 contains two oppositely positioned flat portions 42 and 43, each being adapted to successively receive the plunger 44 constantly urged upwardly thereagainst by the helical spring 45. The screw member 46, abutting against the spring, can be manipulated for varying the tension therein.

By turning the knob 4i until the flat portion 43 of the shaft enters into operative engagement with the plunger 44, the pin 38 will be in its uppermost position,--the said pin during its upward rotary movement engaging the upper wall of slot 31 to upwardly actuate the cam 35, thereby moving the butt-engaging face 36 thereof upwardly, and the needles consequently out of the positions they have assumed as a result of the operation of the pattern wheel. Inasmuch as the pin 38 is in dead center at its uppermost point, and the spring 45, the plunger 44 and surface 43 cooperate to hold the shaft 39 firmly set in position, the cam will remain in its uppermost posi tion until released therefrom by a further manipulation of the knob 4|, such as by a rotation thereof until the flat surface 42 engages the plunger 44 to bring the pin to its lowermost position. Hence it is apparent that once the cam is in its upper projected position, no tight needle will be able to force the cam downwardly at unwanted times. Of course, it is understood that instead of manipulating the knob 4| by hand, automatic mechanical means can be employed to accomplish the same purpose.

Another advantage of this form of lifting cam is that the needle is gradually lifted to its uppermost position due to the eccentric position of the pin 38, thereby obviating the danger of damage to the needle such as would occur in the event of a sudden upward snap thereof.

It is understood that various other mechanical forms and modifications of this invention besides the embodiments thereof hereinbefore described can be employed within the scope of the appended claims. 7

What I claim is: r

1. In a pattern wheel of the class described, .a plurality of suitably secured, circumferentially disposed, spaced walls, each of said walls having an outwardly projecting terminal portion extending above the upper surface of said wheel and an inwardly projecting portion extending along the underside of the wheel, a predetermined number of jacks radially positioned upon the upper surface of the wheel and extending beyond the periphery thereof, the outer ends of each of said jacks beingflanked by two adjacent terminal portions of said walls, the spaces between the extreme inner portions of the jacks being entirely unobstructed, and means'for holding said walls and jacks in place. 7

2. In a pattern wheel of the class described, a plurality of peripherally disposed, spaced slots, a circular recessed portionon the underside of said wheel and which communicates v/ith all of said slots, a circular groove extending from said recessed portion upwardly into the body of the wheel, a relatively thin wall inserted in each of said slots, each of said walls having an outwardly projecting terminal portion extending above the upper surface of the wheel and an inwardly projecting portion extending into said recessed portion and having an inner terminal extension entering into said groove whereby the said walls are held against longitudinal movement, at predetermined number of jacks inserted between the said outwardly projecting terminal portions of certain of said walls and positioned along the upper surface of the wheel, and means for holding said walls and jacks in place.

3. In a pattern wheel of the class described, a plurality of independent, peripherally disposed, spaced walls adapted to accommodate independently removable jacks therebetween, a cover plate containing a plurality of peripherally disposed teeth corresponding in number and pitch to said walls, said plate being in engagement with the upper edges of said jacks to hold them in place, the said teeth intermeshing with the outer terminal portions of said walls, and means for securing said plate to the wheel.

, 4. In a pattern wheel of the class described, a plurality of suitably secured, circumferentially disposed spaced Walls, each of said walls having an outwardly projecting terminal portion extendingabove the upper surface of said wheel and an inwardly projecting portion extending along the underside of the wheel, said wheel containing a circular groove on the underside thereof, each of said walls having its inner extremity provided with an angularly disposed extension entering into said groove to be held by the sides thereof against longitudinal movement, a predetermined number of jacks inserted betweenthe said terminal portions of certain of said walls and positioned along the upper surface of the wheel, and meansfor holding said walls and jacks in place.

5. In a pattern wheel for knitting machines, a plurality of radially disposed jacks positioned upon the upper surface of the wheel and extending beyond the periphery thereof, a plurality of circumferentially disposed spaced walls in interlocking engagement with theunderside of the wheel and containing upwardly extending terminal portions outside of the periphery of the wheel proper, certain of said terminal portions containing therebetween the outer ends of said i acks.

HARRY AGULNEK. 

